Water-bears from the Rocky Mountains: A First Look at Alberta's Tardigrade Fauna

• Published in: The Canadian Field-Naturalist
• Main Authors: Boeckner, Matthew J., Proctor, Heather C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2005
• Subjects: Tardigrada; elevation diversity; faunistic survey; Black Cat Mountain; Alberta; Tardigrade; water bear
• Online Access: https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/193; https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v119i4.193

There is no information in the published literature regarding Alberta’s terrestrial water-bear (Tardigrada) fauna. We surveyed across an elevational gradient (1100 – 1800 ft) on Black Cat Mountain in the Alberta Rocky Mountain range. Ten taxa were identified from 902 specimens, all of which are new records for Alberta and one species is new for Canada: Macrobiotus cf. islandicus Richters, 1904. There was no clear relationship between elevation and tardigrade distribution, possibly owing to patchiness of these animals in the field and lack of adequate replication at each elevation.